Nueva Ecija flexes muscles, blasts Pasay

Nueva Ecija Rice banked on Jaycee Marcelino’s explosion to subdue Pasay, 84-72, in the 1xBet-Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2025 Season at the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gym in Rosales, Pangasinan late Monday.

With the Voyagers knotting the count at 70, Marcelino flashed the form that made him the 2022 league Most Valuable Player, bunching eight points in a 14-point run that sealed the win for the 2022 MPBL champion Rice Vanguards, 84-70, with 1:10 to go.

Marcelino wound up with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block, yielding best player honors to fellow Ralph Tansingco, who posted 18 points, seven rebounds and one steal in Nueva Ecija’s first game of the MPBL’s seventh season.

Jammer Jamito provided support with 13 points, three steals and two rebounds, and so did Billy Robles with eight points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, and John Byron Villarias with eight points and two rebounds.

The Voyagers drew 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal rom Cyrus Tabi, 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal from Warren Bonifacio, 10 points and 10 rebounds from AJ Coronel, and 10 points from homegrown Brian Wendel Hilario.

The Pangasinan Heatwaves shut down the Bataan Risers in the last two minutes to prevail, 95-86, in the nightcap.

Trailing the Risers, 84-86, the Heatwaves turned hot through Michael Mabulac, Vic Manuel, Lervin Flores and Michael DiGregorio to win their first assignment at home.

Manuel lived up to the hype in his MPBL debut, coming through with 23 points, three assists, two rebounds, and clinching Best Player honors over Jorey Napoles, who tallied 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal.

Mabulac chalked 10 points, 13 rebounds and three assists while DiGregorio notched 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Ralph Robin 11 points plus two rebounds.

Bataan, which led for nearly 26 minutes, drew 12 points each from Jeff Santos and Yves Sazon and 11 from Chris Javier and Robbi Darang.

Imus Braderhood rode the hot hands of Jhon Jerrick Caspe in the fourth quarter to stun the Mindoro Tamaraws, 83-75, in the opener.

Caspe, a former homegrown of Mindoro, poured 15 of his game-high 19 points in that span to eclipse the Tamaraws’ 14-point total and lift Imus to victory after trailing throughout the first three quarters and by as far as 38-52.